How to Fix a Steam Library That Won't Load

Easy fixes for when you can't see the Steam games in your library

Co-authored by Darlene Antonelli, MA Reviewed by Stan Kats

Last Updated: January 13, 2025 Fact Checked

Do you see a black, white, or forever-loading screen when you try to view your Steam library? Or does your Library move further and further down the screen like it's running away from your cursor? If your Steam library isn't loading, there's usually a simple solution. Read on to learn how to fix a Steam library that is not loading.

Troubleshooting a Steam Library That Isn’t Loading

Restart Steam by closing the window, right-clicking the Steam icon in your system tray, selecting "Exit Steam," and reopening the client.
Turn off GPU accelerated rendering in "Settings" > "Interface".
Try running Steam as an administrator, closing background apps, and deleting the "Appcache" folder.

1

Restart Steam.

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Restarting the client can help your library load properly. Close Steam by clicking the Steam menu and selecting Exit or Quit. You can also right-click the Steam icon in the system tray and select Exit Steam. Don't just close the window, as Steam will continue running in the background.
- If you can't close Steam, you can do so from the Task Manager: Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, go to the Processes tab, select Steam, and click End Task.
- Once Steam is closed, reopen the app and try to load your library again.

2

Disable GPU accelerated rendering.

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To disable it, go to Settings > Interface and click the toggle next to "Enable GPU accelerated rendering in web views." Many players have found that this simple solution got their libraries working again.^{[1]
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3

Run Steam as an administrator.

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Steam may be unable to access certain folders. Running the client as an administrator gives Steam unrestricted access to the folders on your system, which might fix the library not loading.
- Close Steam if it's already running, and make sure it isn't running in the background. If you see the Steam icon in the system tray, right-click it and select Exit.
- Right-click the Steam icon on your desktop or in the Start menu.
- Select Run as administrator.
- If running Steam as an administrator fixes the problem, you may need to reinstall the Steam client with a standard user account instead of installing it as an administrator.
  - Alternatively, you can force Steam to always run as an administrator by right-clicking Steam in the Start menu, going to Properties > Compatibility, selecting Run this program as administrator, and clicking OK.

4

Close excess background tasks.

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If you see a black, white, or unloaded Steam library, your computer may be overloaded. Open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc, click a background process that doesn't need to be running, and select End task.

5

Clear the Steam cache.

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Files in the cache can get corrupted and lead to Steam library issues. To clear the cache:
- Close Steam completely.
- Open File Explorer by pressing Windows key + E.
- Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\appcache. Or, if you installed Steam in a different location than the default, locate the "Appcache" folder in the Steam folder you created.
- Make a backup, then delete the appcache folder.
- Steam will replace the folder when you restart Steam.

6

Update Steam.

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To see if you have the latest updates, click the Steam menu and select Check for Steam Client Updates. If updates are applied, restart Steam.

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Tips

If your Steam library still won't load, you may need to uninstall the client and download the latest version from https://store.steampowered.com.^{[2]
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